Kasargod Chalo protest hits traffic at Talapady

Kannada Chavavali Vatal Paksha president Vatal Nagaraj said Karnataka bandh will be observed on June 12, opposing the bill passed by the Kerala state government, making Malayalam compulsory in Kasargod.

Taking part in the Kasargod Chalo protest organised by pro-Kannada organisations at Talapady on Thursday, he said the Kannadigas in Kerala are being looked down upon. 

“The Kerala government is always doing injustice to the Kannadigas in Kasargod. It should immediately withdraw the controversial bill. Languages cannot be imposed on people. Kannadigas in Kerala, who are the linguistic minority, will be affected with the implementation of the compulsory Malayalam in Kasargod. All constitutional rights should be guaranteed to Kannadigas. It if is not done, the protests will be intensified,” he warned.

He urged MLAs and MPs to raise the issue in their respective Houses. The central government should implement the recommendations of Mahajan report and merge Kasargod with Karnataka. All Kannadigas should be part of the fight in bringing back Kasargod to Karnataka.  Kannada Chavavali Vatal Paksha will continue the fight started by poet laureates and writers M Govinda Pai, Kayyara Kinhanna Rai, K Shivaram Karanth, and B M Idinabba, he said.

The members of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, Rashtriya Parisara Samrakshana Okkoota, various pro-Kannada organisations in Kasargod and others took out rallies from Udupi on Thursday and joined the protesters at Talapady. Hundreds of protesters blocked roads.

The police arrested Vatal Nagaraj, Praveen Shetty, Kannada Jagruthi Samiti district president Sathyanarayana Amai, Kushala Parekatte, Bharathraj Uyilattadka and others. They were released later.
DH News Service